Who We Are

Board of Directors

Vita House Family Centre was established in 1993. It is a community, not for profit agency governed by a board of directors, and a company limited by guarantee. The aim was to provide a place of welcome for all, where families and individuals would be encouraged and supported to develop their true potential.

Vita House is fully registered under the Charities Regulatory Authority which can be viewed on line here

Marian Keigher – Director of Services

Experience: Marian has qualified as a Social Worker in 1976 from UCD and got her professional qualification from University of Dundee in 1980. She worked as a Social Worker for 12 years in the HSE (formally Western Health Board). She moved to the Brothers of Charity, Roscommon and continued to work as Principal Social Worker for a further 10 years. She was promoted to Chief Executive of the Brothers of Charity in 1999 and remained in that post until 2010. She is now Director of Services in Vita House with responsibility for Clinical Governance in Vita House. She qualified as a Family Therapist in 1989 from the Clanwilliam Institute, Dublin. She has worked in private practice on a part time basis since then including working with Clients referred by G.P’S in Primary Care. She carries an active client case load in the Family Centre. Marian is trained in a systemic approach to work as a family therapist.

Marian is also chairperson of the national Association for Agency-based Counselling in Ireland (AACI) which aims to support and represent the network of service providers of Professional Community-based counselling services. It commits to be community-based and not-for-profit, to pursue standards of excellence in clinical practice and corporate governance and to support and value agency-based work.

Works With: Individuals, Couples, Families

Client Age Range: Children, Adolescents, Adults

Email: mkeigher@vitahouse.org

Miriam J Brennan – Resource Worker

Experience: DIP. in REL.ED: B. SOC. SC: M.S.W. Miriam has worked as a family social worker in Sligo Social Services and also spent time as a community development worker in Paraiba, N.E Brazil . She is now working with us here at Vita House as a resource worker.

Works With: Brazilian Population in Roscommon town and environs.

Client Age Range:Children, Adolescents, Adults

Email:mbrennan@vitahouse.org

Mary Kealy – Occupational Therapist

Experience: Mary qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1976 and worked in a number of positions with the Brothers of Charity Galway until her appointment in 1999 as Chief Executive with the Brothers of Charity in Co Clare. Mary went on to lead a radical change in how support is provided to people with Intellectual Disability from living and working in congregated, segregated settings to being given the opportunity to live a valued and meaningful life in local community and getting the chance to have a home of one’s own.

Having acquired a masters in Training and Development from the University of Limerick in 1998 Mary became interested in Social Role Valorisation (SRV) a theory of practice in human services developed by Dr Wolf Wolfensberger and upon retiring from the Brothers of Charity in 2012 went on to study it in depth. She established an Irish Study Group of SRV three years ago and has worked with a number of Internationally acclaimed consultants and trainers.

Mary joined the Vita House team in February this year and since then has been engaged with agencies who are interested in service reform and supporting change so that people can have access to the good things of life.

Works With: individuals, families, organisations and professionals in community and across human services.